[1] After attending Shattuck-Saint Mary's, a premier prep school for ice hockey in Minnesota, Barr began his college career with Rensselaer in the fall of 2000.
Barr left the program and moved back east, taking an assistant position with Massachusetts under new head coach Greg Carvel.
the Minutemen were recovering from a disappointing 4-year stretch under the previous bench boss and the abrupt change in scheme led to the program's worst record in 38 years.
[6] Shortly before Barr helped Massachusetts win the championship, Red Gendron, the head coach at Maine, died suddenly.
[7] The athletic department began a search for Gendron's replacement and, after a month of deliberation, hired Barr as the program's 5th head coach.